Nine and a half months ago, Austin Etherington’s season ended when he suffered a broken left kneecap in the first half of a game against Central Connecticut State.

Thursday afternoon, speaking to the media only one day before Indiana’s first official practice, Etherington said he is back at 100 percent and will be ready to go for the Hoosiers’ opener, an exhibition against Southern Indiana on Oct. 26.

“Being out for eight months, it’s weird having to watch from the side,” Etherington said. “It’s something you always wish you’re not out for, but it’s good to be back.”

Etherington said he chose to take a medical redshirt, which makes him a sophomore once again this season. After his injury, which occurred while the Hoosiers were still the No. 1 team in the nation without a loss, he watched from the sidelines as his teammates earned Indiana’s first outright Big Ten title since 1993.

“Just watching them play and learning the pace of the game and how they handle the situation, you learn a lot from the side,” Etherington said. “Vic (Oladipo), Cody (Zeller), Christian (Watford), Jordan (Hulls) and Derek (Elston), they’re all great players.”

Etherington will play in front of IU’s fans for the first time since his injury next Friday at Hoosier Hysteria. That experience, he said, is one that he will remember.

Evan Gordon knows he has big footsteps to fill at Indiana. After all, his brother, Eric, played at IU from 2007 to 2008 and was a first-round NBA draft pick.

After transferring to the Bloomington campus from Arizona State this past offseason, the graduate senior is looking forward to his first appearance donning the Cream and Crimson.

“It’s a dream come true just to get the opportunity to play here,” Gordon said. “I think, overall, I’m going to enjoy the experience and take it day-by-day.”

Gordon’s journey to Indiana, though, came a few years later than expected. When he chose to transfer from Liberty University after his sophomore year of college, he actually wanted to come to IU, he said. However, IU did not show much interest at the time.

Choosing to go to school close to his older brother, then playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Gordon sat one season and played one at ASU. He graduated in May with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Business and Communication).

“I’ve been away from home for five or six years,” Gordon said. “This is my sixth year away from home, but now that I’m back here, it adds a different element to it.”

IU announced the addition of Gordon on May 16, and Gordon — IU’s oldest player — has been training with the team since that point.

“I think everybody is pretty much a family around here,” Gordon said. “We’ve built that environment around here and that’s always been the culture around here, so I think with my family being 45 minutes away and me knowing Yogi (Ferrell) and Jeremy (Hollowell) and a couple of these guys for a long time already, I didn’t have to build those new relationships again.”

Other news and notes:

— The only scholarship senior who has played three seasons at IU, Will Sheehey spoke to the media Thursday and talked about his newfound leadership position on the Hoosiers’ roster: “I don’t put value on myself over any of my other teammates that are in here,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m the guy: I’m one of many, and it’s just because I’m one of the oldest. It’s funny; I get all these titles of leadership and ‘the guy,’ because I’m just old, but I want to make sure that everything is even and everyone can do the same.”

— With Hoosier Hysteria around the corner, Ferrell hinted via his Twitter account that he might have a new hairstyle by next Friday night. He told Inside the Hall on Thursday: “I’m not giving that away until you see me coming out of the tunnel. That’s when you’ll see it.”

— Though freshman forward Troy Williams is out with a right hand injury, he is still hopeful he can participate in the Hoosier Hysteria dunk contest. He said he would use only one hand, if necessary.

“we are family…” That needs to be the beat, Hoosier Nation. Rock the Hall so loud I can hear Hoosier Hysteria in Perth Australia. If I hear it, make Dam certain Dante will hear the noise in Melbourne.

Dagwoods

Gonna guess flat top. Maybe it’ll add an inch to his height! 🙂

Doug Wilson

Wouldn’t that require the skills to dunk?

jmac

Troy just may win the dunk contest with one hand. You show em Troy!

ADegenerate

Shoot 🙁 AE takes up a scholarship for another year.

WET VETTE

This might be AE’s breakout season could be a great thing for INDIANA

BC

Austin going back to court?!? What did he do? Why does Crean get these criminals to play for him? This is all Crean’s fault.

Crimson&CremeFraiche

Yeah. He has to go to court for shooting the lights out.

CreamandCrimson

I frequent a Tottenham Hotspur blog called Cartilage Free Captain and this joke is made often….”No one reads the articles”.

The last line in the article reads, “Though freshman forward Troy Williams is out with a right hand injury, he is still hopeful he can participate in the Hoosier Hysteria dunk contest. He said he would use only one hand, if necessary.”

I’m not calling you out or anything, just answering your question. Troy is expected to be back in 2-3 weeks.

INexpat2001

I down voted this based on my (admittedly subjective) view on its lack of class. Even on its merits though this comment is probably inaccurate based on fact that other players who have lost seasons to injury have not played beyond 4 years at IU.

I think its clear that CTC expects players who don’t leave early to go pro to get a degree (often in 3 years) and 5th year seniors may not automatically get their schollies renewed. People can debate whether this is good/bad practice but either way there’s nothing to suggest that ADegenerate is right.

esapata

I’m thinking this. Or some variation of a mohawk.

unclekerfuffle

Good one, BC

marcusgresham

Pipe dream I know, but I’m hoping for the old early 80s Terry Reason-esque jheri curl.

Snookafly

That would be sweet. Maybe he needs to “let his Soul Glow.”

Kevin Tolliver

leave troll

Kevin Tolliver

Very well could be… He has been working as hard as anyone especially in the weight room. This from an earlier article on ITH. Even though he wasn’t able to make an on-court impact for the Hoosiers after his injury, Etherington made the most of his circumstances. He hit the weight room hard and tested out as the strongest guy in the team at the end of the season.

Andrew

He changed it. It originally said LEFT HAND. But thanks for not calling me out or anything.

hoosier1158

Austin is a good player, he can really light it up. I’ve read he has also bulked up. We need him with Troy hurt.

hoosier1158

It all depends on talent. I don’t agree with it, but once you’re on campus, no guarantee about the next year.